Tag: COVID-19

In the health industry, digitization has evolved over time with numerous advances to ensure that everyone has equitable access to health products and medical specialists.  At-home Self-testing has the ability to improve health equity and accelerate progress toward universal health coverage, and it has the capacity to alter health care. Self-testing alternatives provide individuals and

Over the years, advances in drug / therapy development processes have led the pharmaceutical industry to gradually shift from a one-drug treats all model to a more personalized approach of treatment. The growing complexity of modern pharmacological interventions, such as monoclonal antibodies, and cell and gene therapies, has further prompted the drug developers to develop

Teleradiology is a branch of telemedicine that uses telecommunication systems for the transmission of radiological images from one location to another. Additionally, it helps the radiologists to interpret various types of images, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), ultrasound, and X-rays, remotely. As of late, teleradiology has piqued

As per the experts, one of the key reasons for the failure of therapeutic candidates in clinical trials is the use of conventional 2-dimensional (2D) cell culture systems in early research studies. The 2D systems are severely limited in a number of aspects. For instance, only 50% of the cell surface is exposed to the

Digital therapeutics are clinically validated applications / software / online programs that have demonstrated the capability to facilitate positive outcomes when used in the prevention / treatment / management of diseases / clinical conditions. These therapeutics are designed to engage patients in personalized treatment or disease prevention programs, through mediating behavioral or psychological modifications, providing

The development of single-use bioreactors started nearly 40 years ago in 1980s. It was around this time that the bio-processors began to use plastic film bags to culture cells, which were initially designed for food storage and culture media containment. Moreover, incremental evolution of the concept of disposable technologies have facilitated various advancements in development

The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading to every corner of the world. During this worldwide attack of virus, human beings are highly concerned for their immune system, since it is the only savior currently. In circumventing a response to pathogenic infections like coronavirus, a healthy microbiome is essential to maintain an optimal immune system in preventing

Since, the outbreak of novel coronavirus, drug repurposing has become one of the core research strategies for finding a treatment. Several clinical studies for the already approved drugs, have been registered in order to identify cure for the novel coronavirus infection. It is known that on an average, it takes around 12 to 15 years

With the success of first vaccine to reach phase I clinical trial and turning out to be safe, well-tolerated, and capable of generating an immune response against the virus in humans, a lot of hope has been created with this vaccine. However, the research is still ongoing to develop novel therapeutic treatments that could aid

The COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to throw the global economy into recession, with loss of trillions of dollars. The pharmaceutical industry cannot escape the brunt of the circumstances as well. In fact, according to a survey, 95% of healthcare industry professionals are worried about the impact the pandemic is likely to have on the industry. So far,

The apocalyptic images of the COVID-19 induced locked-down world are heart wrenching. All healthcare related domains are being created at a rapid rate. Around the world, the coronavirus pandemic is overstretching health services and reportedly more than 40 companies have boosted their R&D efforts to hit the bulls eye and deliver the much awaited vaccines

As we know, COVID-19 is causing large scale loss of life and severe human suffering. With the pandemic spreading across the globe, researchers are racing against the clock to develop diagnostic tools, vaccines and treatments. Recently, WHO has launched a Solidarity clinical trial to assess relative effectiveness of four potential drugs against COVID-19. Further, there

As therapeutic agents, oligonucleotides are known to be associated with several unique features, such as high selectivity and potency (similar to biologics), and differentiated pharmacology, which further augment their drug-like properties. At present, eight oligonucleotide-based drugs are available in the market, namely (in reverse chronological order of year of approval) GIVLAARI™ (2019), ONPATTRO® (2018), TEGSEDI™

China, epicenter of the COVID-19, is the world’s second largest pharmaceutical market and accounts for 20 % of the global output of APIs. With over 25 biologics and biosimilar products approved till date and close to 1,000 clinical trials, investigating a variety of biologics and biosimilars, being underway in this region, China’s biopharma market is

The coronavirus outbreak and the drop in economy that we are facing today is unlike anything that most of us have seen in our lifetime. The pandemic has threatened the whole world to such an extent that life has come to a standstill. In fact, the initial stage of lockdown featured the fragile nature of

With the new threat to humanity presented by Pandemic COVID-19, another bigger challenges for the pharmaceutical industries are bulk vaccine production in the limited time span. How will the pharma sector be going to cope with these challenges? Well, automation has always improved the quality and efficiency of the production process in the pharmaceutical industry

In a blog posted a few weeks ago, I talked about the key strategies that the pharma companies can adopt to deal with the impact of COVID-19. The strategies were dependent on the position of the companies on the recession readiness evaluation framework (added below). Check out the blog for more details on this. Two

Well before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were warning signs of an imminent US recession. The ongoing pandemic, and trade conflicts between the US. and China, and the US and Europe have just accelerated the fall of the global economy. In fact, as per the United Nations, the world economy is expected to go into recession

To date, there are no approved treatments for COVID-19. However, the pharmaceutical industry is abuzz with activity as medical researchers strive to develop a cure, and possibly a vaccine, for the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. In this article, we have attempted to explore some of the more popular treatments / preventive measures that

I would never have thought that a mutant flu virus could create that big panic in people at each and every corner of the world. In fact, the past few days in quarantine have really made me realize where exactly the humanity is heading. For majority of us, our lives are on a temporary hold

Comparison with other communicable diseases According to worldometers.info, as of 5 April 2020 (5:30 PM GMT), the total number of COVID-19 cases rose to over a million, with a reported mortality rate of 5%. Further, a comparison with certain other communicable disease-related deaths (Figure below) presents a worrisome situation. As of 5-April 2020, the novel

With over 855,000 cases and 42,000 deaths, the novel coronavirus has taken its toll on humanity. The pandemic is predicted to throw the global economy into recession, with loss of trillions of dollars. The pharmaceutical industry cannot escape the brunt of the circumstances as well. In fact, according to a survey, 95% of healthcare industry

As is the case with numerous pharmaceutical companies who have been racing to find a potential cure for the patients suffering from infection with Corornavirus, the stem cell industry has been on an outlook to identify stem cell therapies which can treat the disease and / or its symptoms. Athersys is developing a possible therapy

In a recently released statement, the NHS has advised all companies that are conducting early phase clinical trials to seek confirmation that the trials have undergone a risk assessment in relation to coronavirus (COVID-19). As per the statement, this is likely to result in the halt/termination of some of the trials. With several governments announcing

The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has put the pharmaceutical manufacturing supply chain under close scrutiny. The overdependence of the US on China and India to meet its API demand has been the talk of the town. However, with the number of infected cases in the US surpassing that of China, the focus has shifted from discussing

In a recent press release, bluebird bio, one of the leading gene therapy developers, announced that COVID-19 has delayed the EU launch and US filing of the company’s gene therapy candidate Zynteglo (LentiGlobin). The company now expects to dose the first commercial patient with Zynteglo in Germany in the second half of 2020. Earlier, the company had

As per a recent article published in Financial Times, Sanofi has warned that Europe lacks the vaccine manufacturing capacity to cope with pandemics like the coronavirus. Roots Analysis, in a recent report, has identified more than 40 vaccines that the currently being developed against COVID-19. To know more about the vaccines under development, check out